The Black Pine Animal Sanctuary (formerly Black Pine Animal Park) is an 18-acre (7.3 ha) exotic animal sanctuary located in Albion, Indiana, United States.
The sanctuary provides permanent refuge for displaced, captive-raised exotic animals kept as "pets" or retired from performance. The population typically ranges from 75 to 100 animals representing between 40 and 50 species some of which are endangered. Various educational programs provide funding to care for the animals, including guided sanctuary tours, summer camps for children, school field trips, and special events. Animals are housed in natural habitats scattered throughout a partially wooded site, and in buildings. Visitors view them from behind protective barriers much like they would in a traditional U.S. zoo. The sanctuary relocated to this site from a location nearby in 2006.
The sanctuary is licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as a Class "C" exhibitor, is incorporated as Professional Animal Retirement Center (PARC), Inc. and is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
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History
Black Pine Animal Sanctuary began operating in 1994 as a privately owned for-profit corporation. The earliest educational programming offered was to local pre-schools and primary schools who took field trips to see the animals and learn about them. In the mid-90's the sanctuary added a gift shop and established a regular tour schedule during the summer season for the general public.
In 1998 following the launch of the sanctuary's first web site, visitor attendance began a steady increase. In 2004, over 17,000 visitors from all over the U.S. and several other countries visited. In 2003, the sanctuary reorganized and began operating under Professional Animal Retirement Center (PARC), Inc., a 501c3 tax exempt non-profit corporation.
In December 2006, the sanctuary completed a relocation to its current site. The sanctuary is managed by a volunteer board of directors, a paid staff of one full-time director/lead keeper and one part-time keeper, and several long-time volunteer keepers. Additionally, a student internship program provides additional unpaid labor to carry out the non-profit mission.
In April 2010, the sanctuary's Board of Directors officially change the organization's "doing business as" name from Black Pine Animal Park to Black Pine Animal Sanctuary to more accurately reflect the non-profit mission and its policy of no buying, selling, breeding, trading, or commercial use of animals.
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Exhibits
A walking tour of the sanctuary explores six areas: pasture animals, primates, commissary, reptile house, the woods, a large animal holding area (temporary housing for newly adopted animals), and a black bear house.
Pasture animals include a llamas, goats, equine, pot-belly pigs, ostrich, emu, rhea, and fallow deer. Visitors may enjoy supervised interaction though barrier fences including feeding the animals while observing from under a shelter canopy. The primate house is home to macaques, a chimpanzee, baboon, bush baby, cotton-top tamarins, as well as several other non-primate mammals. Optional tours of the commissary, where food is stored and diets are prepared daily, are available. The reptile house houses snakes, green iguanas, bearded dragon, American alligator, tortoises, and more. The woods include a number of individual habitats for big and small cats, as does the large animal holding area. Residents include Bengal tigers, African lions, puma, bobcats, leopards, gray wolf, and Arctic fox.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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